Kansas Lands Memphis Transfers KJ and Dedric Lawson

Memphis sophomores Dedric and KJ Lawson are transferring to Kansas. I am sure this was posted a million times on twitter but I saw it reported by Gary Parrish of CBS Sports first.

The brothers will have to sit next season and then will be eligible.

Dedric is the better of the two. The 6-9 sophomore shot 52 percent on 358 attempts last season, was the team’s best rebounder, and had an assist rate of 20 percent. KJ shot just 41.6 percent on twos but was also a pretty good rebounder. Both guys are former top 50 recruits. It’s also worth noting that while Memphis was just 5th in the AAC in defense, it was not because of the Lawsons. Both are very good defensively. Dedric was one of the best post defenders in the country, and also did a good job when guarding perimeter guys. KJ meanwhile is more of a wing defender, but is very good both in isolation on the perimeter and in the pick and roll.

The real coup here though is that the Lawson’s father, Keelon, is related to a host of future talented recruits. The third Lawson brother, Chandler, is a top 25ish quality recruit in 2019, and the fourth, Johnathan, will probably be a McDonalds All American in the class of 2021. And they have a cousin, DJ Jeffries, who will probably be a McDonalds All American in the class of 2019. Obviously those guys are a ways off, and whether they ultimately commit to Kansas might depend on how well Dedric and KJ play, but Kansas should have the inside track on a number of top 50 guys over the next handful of years.